Resource managers and conservation practitioners work to preserve, protect, and understand the lands, waters, and wildlife of our country. What do these professionals need in order to address the challenges posed by climate change in their work? We spent a year asking 195 natural and cultural resource managers, conservation practitioners, and researchers this question.

These professionals work along the west coast of North America in the North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative (NPLCC) region. This is a dynamic and beautiful place filled with dense evergreen forests, spectacular coastlines, some of America’s longest rivers, and such iconic species as salmon, orca, and grizzly bear. While their toolbox is full of strategies and actions applied over the decades, they requested more support to address the particular challenges presented by climate change.

Decision-support systems and tools

By gathering the most relevant documents, data, and other resources in one place, decision-support systems and tools enable managers and decision makers to make more informed decisions. For the managers, conservation practitioners, and researchers we engaged, decision-support systems and tools were the most requested type of support. These systems and tools may include:

Computer- or web-based tools that visualize climate change impacts, alternative ways to respond to impacts, and the pros and cons of choosing one alternative over another

Collaboration and other capacity-building activities

The NPLCC region traverses the Pacific coastline from southern Alaska to northwest California. It crosses state and national boundaries and encompasses federal, tribal, state, and non-governmental jurisdictions. As such, the professionals we engaged emphasized the need to pursue projects and plans that meet the objectives of multiple partners working to address climate change effects on diverse ecosystems. They also emphasized the need to work together to maintain or improve the health and status of the region’s ecosystems over time; in other words, to build or maintain landscape resilience over time. Requested capacity-building activities include:

Bald eagles are found in much of the NPLCC region. Credit: Robert Palmer

Guidance such as “Best Management Practices” manuals that outline how to incorporate climate change considerations into planning efforts. Or, assessments of the pros and cons of applying new or controversial research to make management decisions.

Case studies of progress or success in climate change adaptation

Development of synthesis products, such as an assessment of when, where and under what conditions to use tools for climate change analyses and/or planning. Or, a web-based “climate clearinghouse” that compiles contact information, scientific literature on climate change, and/or an inventory of existing research.

Facilitation of collaboration among people, projects, institutions, and funding sources

New or different science, data and information

Some data gaps and information needs identified by the managers, conservation practitioners, and researchers we engaged are shared throughout the NPLCC region, while others are particular to a specific location or ecosystem.

The beauty and complexity of the region is breathtaking. This is just the type of system scientists would like to model. Credit: Patricia Tillmann

Hydrologic data (i.e., water data) in Alaska and British Columbia such as data on how much water flows in a stream per year, per season, per month, or per day.

Regional and local models of ocean conditions. These may include water temperature, patterns of ocean currents, the level of nutrients in the water, and other conditions.

Scenarios of climate and socioeconomic conditions, developed in collaboration with decision makers and stakeholders. Scenarios are different but equally possible “visions of the future.” They provide specific descriptions of what the future will look like based on hypothetical (or in some cases, real) decisions made today.

Science communication and outreach

The professionals we engaged identified three audiences for targeted communication and outreach: resource managers, conservation practitioners, and researchers; the public and educators; and, decision makers. They also emphasized that promoting effective science communication and outreach will require targeted messaging and a user-to-consumer approach. Examples of requested communication and outreach needs and activities include:

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2013/05/4-new-insights-climate-smart-conservation/feed/280080195 People to Thank: How Hard Work and Dedication Combat Climate Change in the NPLCC Regionhttp://blog.nwf.org/2012/06/195-people-to-thank/
http://blog.nwf.org/2012/06/195-people-to-thank/#commentsFri, 22 Jun 2012 23:00:28 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=61614

Alaska’s Inside Passage is one of many wild and iconic places in the NPLCC region. (Credit: Patricia Tillmann)

For the last nine months, I have been inspired and impressed by 195 hard-working, dedicated, thoughtful, and intelligent people. These people hail from Alaska and British Columbia, the Pacific Northwest and California. They work for our federal, state, provincial, and tribal agencies, conservation groups, and universities. And each of them has tackled climate change in their work and has thoughtfully shared their experiences in order to advance climate change adaptation in the North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative Region (NPLCC).

6 Management Challenges Presented by Climate Change

Using a survey and thirteen web-based focus group discussions, we asked project participants a series of questions about how climate change was affecting their work to better understand the challenges and opportunities associated with managing ecosystems, habitats, and species in light of current and potential future climate change effects. After analyzing their answers, six primary climate change-related management challenges were identified:

It is difficult to know how to identify and use climate-related science, data, tools, and/or information.

It is difficult to incorporate uncertainty related to climate change into one’s work.

The NPLCC region is dominated by coastal temperate rainforests and some of the most productive marine waters in the world. (Credit: U.S. FWS)

Because climate change is most often framed as a new factor to consider in management, addressing climate change may compete with existing priorities or the wrong priorities may be pursued when climate change is not addressed in management practice.

There is a lack of capacityto address climate change, including technical, institutional, and financial capacity.

There are institutional, international, cultural, and/or social barriers to addressing climate change.

There is a lack of coordination, collaboration, and communication around climate change issues.

We then asked project participants to suggest climate-related science and information needs that, if fulfilled, would advance their ability to incorporate climate change into their work. Potential science and information needs ranged from funding the collection of basic hydrologic data to mapping the location of vulnerable habitats or species and convening workshops to allow managers and scientists from diverse fields to collaborate on identifying adaptation approaches that will work across a broad landscape. The latter suggestion – convening workshops – was already a planned activity for our project.

3 Workshops to Identify and Inform Strategic Planning and Priority-setting

The three workshops brought together ecosystem and climate change experts from agencies, conservation organizations, and universities to further define and refine the potential science and information needs identified through the surveys and web-based focus groups. Participants were asked to evaluate a potential need across four criteria, each of which provides information to the NPLCC about when, where, or for what purpose a particular need is suggested:

Spatial and temporal scale: specify the geographic region and whether the information is needed on an annual, seasonal, daily, etc. timescale

Timeline/urgency: when this information is needed, tell us why this is important

Partners/ongoing efforts:who might already have this information or might be well suited to develop it

The final step in this project is to synthesize the information gathered from the survey, web-based focus groups, and in-person workshops. My colleagues and I will work closely with our partners at the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group and the NPLCC to produce a report that is thoroughly reviewed by project participants and synthesizes the information gathered in a way that both accurately reflects participants’ feedback and helps inform the NPLCC’s short- and long-term planning and prioritization efforts.

195 People to Thank for Building the Partnership

All of this work and all of these results were made possible by the 195 project participants and partners that devoted their time, energy, and expertise to thinking about how the NPLCC could best advance climate change adaptation efforts in the region. It has been inspiring, educational, and fun. We have made great strides in just the last nine months; I can’t wait to see what this partnership does in the next nine months! Thank you, project participants and partners, for your commitment and insight throughout the process.